QUINCE

quince

(noun) aromatic acid-tasting pear-shaped fruit used in preserves

quince, quince bush, Cydonia oblonga

(noun) small Asian tree with pinkish flowers and pear-shaped fruit; widely cultivated

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

quince (plural quinces)

The pear-shaped fruit of a small tree of the rose family, Cydonia oblonga.

The deciduous tree bearing such fruit, native to Asia.

A soft yellow colour, like that of a quince.

Anagrams

• Cinque, cinque

Source: Wiktionary

Quince, n. Etym: [Prob. a pl. from OE. quyne, coin, OF. coin, cooin, F. coing, from L. Cydonius a quince tree, as adj., Cydonian, Gr. Quiddany.]

1. The fruit of a shrub (Cydonia vulgaris) belonging to the same tribe as the apple. It somewhat resembles an apple, but differs in having many seeds in each carpel. It has hard flesh of high flavor, but very acid, and is largely used for marmalade, jelly, and preserves.

2. (Bot.)

Definition: a quince tree or shrub. Japan quince (Bot.), an Eastern Asiatic shrub (Cydonia, formerly Pyrus, Japonica) and its very fragrant but inedible fruit. The shrub has very showy flowers, usually red, but sometimes pink or white, and is much grown for ornament.

– Quince curculio (Zoöl.), a small gray and yellow curculio (Conotrachelus cratægi) whose larva lives in quinces.

– Quince tree (Bot.), the small tree (Cydonia vulgaris) which produces the quince.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition